“I will. He’ll be thrilled to come home to a finished house.” Jaxon had paid them double to get everything brought in today. I knew it made Marco happy, considering he had a large family to feed.
Once they left, I got to work. The whole house wasn’t fully completed, but I wanted to get the living room and Jaxon’s bedroom done. There was nothing wrong with his room colors to begin with, so I stuck with the same tones as before. The only thing I had changed was the position of his bed and his dressers. He had a gorgeous view of the lake, and I thought it would be nice to have the bed facing that window. I was pretty sure he didn’t care about the scenery, but I did. Once I had his room completed, I went down to finish the living space.
The paintings I had framed for Jaxon were now in the trash, since there was nothing left of them. It had hurt my heart to see his work ripped apart and thrown across the floor like garbage. For now, I stayed away from walls and just concentrated on the furniture placement. I didn’t want anything on the walls other than Jaxon’s work. It belonged there.
“Hello,” Angela called from the kitchen. She had a key to Jaxon’s house, and I knew she was stopping by. It was her day to cook and I was glad of it. After the busy day I’d had, there was no way I’d have the energy.
“In here, Angela.”
She appeared in the doorway and smiled. “Wow, you’ve been working hard.”
Laughing, I flopped down on the couch. “I have. I’m just glad most of it’s done. Hopefully, Jaxon will like it when he comes home.”
She waved me off. “He will, my dear. I’m going to cook you both enough food to last the next couple of days. I have family coming in from out of town this weekend.”
“That sounds like fun. If we run out of food, I know how to cook. It’s just yours tastes so much better.” She giggled and her little, twinkling eyes crinkled.
“Thank you, Bristol. I have to say it’s been a breath of fresh air with you being around.”
The doorbell rang, so Angela walked over to answer it. I was curious to see who it was and got up to look around the corner. It was a postal carrier, holding out a large envelope. Once Angela had accepted it, she turned around and held the envelope out to me.
“It’s addressed to you.”
I took it from her, and there written on the front was my name with Jaxon’s address. “That’s strange. Why would someone send me something here?”
Angela shrugged. “Not sure, dear. But I’m going to head into the kitchen and get started. I have a lot of cooking to do.”
She waltzed off and I sat back down in the living room. There was no return address, so I had no clue who’d sent me the letter. Sliding my finger under the lip, I tore the envelope open and looked inside. I pulled out the letter and gasped.
Bitch,
You’ll never be as good as me. Might as well leave while you still can.
~S.
Who the hell was S? I felt sick to my stomach and terrified to see what else was in the envelope. All I could tell was that there were pictures, and I could only imagine who the two people in them were. Closing my eyes, I pulled them out and laid them on my lap. The second I looked down at them, I wished I hadn’t. Bile rose in the back of my throat and my heart thundered so hard it made my chest hurt. In the pictures were Jaxon and another woman in various positions, having sex. I couldn’t see her face, but I could see his. Jumping to my feet, I let the photos fall to the floor and I left them there.
The only thing I cared about was getting the hell out of there, away from the pictures…away from Jaxon.
Chapter 23
Jaxon
“Alright, Reed, let’s see what you got.” Aaron held the ball and I kicked it as hard as I could. All day, I’d tried to make a successful field goal at the sixty-five-yard line and failed. I’d made the ones at sixty-three, but those extra two feet were my enemies. And again, my attempt was a failure.
Aaron patted my shoulder. “You’ll make it one day.”
I scoffed. “I sure as hell hope so.” The other guys started to head inside, but Aaron and I stayed behind. “One more time,” I said.
Chuckling, Aaron fetched another ball and got into position. “What is it with you always wanting to be the best? You’re already the number-one kicker in the NFL.”
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the two posts at the end of the field. “I’m not the best until I’ve defeated the best.” I rushed toward the ball and felt it as it left the tip of my cleat. It spun perfectly in the air as it flew down the field. The aim was straight and it kept going and going until it soared right through the posts.
There was nothing but silence as Aaron and I watched the football bounce when it hit the ground. “Holy shit, dude, did I just see that right?” Aaron asked in awe.
“I believe you did.”
He jumped up and hollered so loud you could hear it echo across the field. “Whoa! Hot damn! I can’t believe you actually made it.” I was so in shock over it, I didn’t even know how to react. None of the guys on the team or our coaches were on the field to witness it. Probably no one would believe us, but I knew the truth.
We started back inside and I was on air. It was turning out to be a good day. When we made it to the locker room, most of the guys were gone, but Aaron announced to everyone left that I’d made the kick. Now all I had to do was do it again during a game.
On the way home, I stopped and bought Bristol some Godiva chocolate-covered strawberries. I knew she loved them because I’d heard her talking about them to Hayden on the phone the other night. I was glad to see her getting along well with my friends.
When I arrived home, I thought she would be there, but the only car parked in the drive was Angela’s. I was hoping to tell her the good news about my kick. However, when I walked in Angela was by the stove, her body stiff.
“Hey,” I called out. She turned around, and I wasn’t expecting to see the conflicted look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Bristol left about an hour ago.”
I set the strawberries down on the counter, but I had a sinking feeling that something bad had happened. “Did she say when she’d be back?”